Archive for August, 2007

perspective from above – same theme, different understanding?

This is my last completed digital painting – finished last week sometime. It was started after the first same themed piece and prior to the last featured piece from more of the true perspective – if there is such a thing.

The work was inspired by a drive-by moment witnessing three field workers racing their strawberry flats to the staging area or truck – I didn’t notice.

It is more about feeling and understanding than actual viewing and therefore a view from above is just as true – but it wasn’t what I wanted and I started another piece before I finished this.

And though I think the other two pieces are more original art for me – I do love the bright color and some of the digital art twists, turns, and copy and paste which are not always utilized in my work.

multiple paths

What the above image demonstrates as much as anything is how unlimited digital art can be. The same figure could have been added on to and finished in an infinite amount of ways.

There are multiple paths, multiple possibilities, and all of them can be true at the same time. It can take the concept of original art and basically give it a whole new twist.

Not only is each print an original print, but each variation – like art itself – is an original – even if part is exactly what is included in a different piece.

What is true for art is generally interchangeable with what is true for life.

See Also

Image Index to Blog Articles – newly expanded to separate Recent and Not for Sale works at Outhouse Studios – Find articles about and from a specific digital painting thumbnail

What is an Original Print? – thoughtful discussion on subject – seems to draw line at what is created by hand – but then with which tools – digital art uses a mouse or pen pad interfacing with computer – distinctions are tricky

William Dobell Quotes – his first three quotes are quite akin to my own thinking about art and have included this reference even though today is the first time I recall seeing a representation of his work

Break Your Own Rules

The figures from the line drawing exercise were a departure from my more typical work – it was supposed to be something different and fun.

I opted to go two different directions of digital painting at the same time – completing levels 1 and 2, than 3 and 4, until I made it to 7 and 8 where I decided to quit.

As I have already indicated, I think the best way for someone to learn how to do is by doing – coaching aside – one still needs to do. And although all mediums have their intrinsic limitations, most of the limits are the rules we impose upon ourselves – necessary- but changeable as time goes on – for instance, trying to be accepting of the term digital art instead of focusing on the differences.

As of this moment, the only thing I have to add to my own written in 2004 – tips on being creative is this final lesson – Don’t be afraid to break your own rules!

See Also

First, Break All the Rules – liked the title – and the connection between the managerial model of utilizing strengths and building on success – to what one must do as an individual in learning to do and accepting one’s limitations along while building on one’s strengths

Just like taking a class – exercises can be valuable. Just as the definition of digital art is rather wide open so are its limits. Many programs allow one to remove something unwanted that was many steps back – programs like photoshop and illustrator which use layers for instance. Even without that, one could save unlimited versions of a piece so that one might not go down the wrong road.

The problem with any of these approaches is that – it is important to hold on to process when one paints – if one doesn’t get that meditative, get lost in the painting – what good is it?

Lesson 3 is about utilizing rules and limits – to have freedom to create inside and create necessity for trying things in new ways.

See Also

Original Art-chives – page shows development of technique and how technique is not really what determines whether a finished work has appeal or not

Photoshop Layers Tutorial – you will notice this explains well – but until you do it yourself you probably won’t get it. My personal experience was being shown, but not remembering until I essentially figured it out on my own.

teaching experience?

So if it isn’t obvious – this is a continuation of yesterday’s article. And like the lesson before, I will probably give very little technical advice. For even if one is committed to a certain computer painting program, the learning is mostly in the doing.

The first digital art panel above is tinted in color from the previous pane. Not all digital painting programs have this capability – very useful – some use adjustable opacity and that is even more controlled.

The color which follows is done using a freehand tool in Appleworks, which few use these days – and as far as I have seen – no equivalent exists in photoshop, illustrator or other programs I have touched upon.

Lesson 2 – learn to use what you have – use help menu-pop-up descriptions and utmost – don’t be afraid to experiment. All programs have advantages and limitations, there are always work-arounds and ways of doing things which may not have been thought of by the authors themselves. It needs to become your medium – explore it and develop it.

I believe the reason kids get around the new technology so well is that they don’t have the fear of losing all their work or their computers like most of the rest of us.

Make Your Mark

The category of digital art is huge – so big in fact that a tutorial that is not more specific doesn’t mean particularly much.

I have looked at other tutorials and have even written some. Like most things the only way to learn how to do it is by doing it. The best one can hope for from a tutorial might be tips about something you weren’t aware of – but even then you will have to do it to know it.

Another Perspective on Strawberry Flat Racing

I decided I wanted another take on the Flat Racing. I really enjoyed being a witness, but I also wasn’t sure I had said all there was to say on the subject.

The first version and digital painting captured the movement quite well, but the scene around was rather abstract and unknown. Here I have tried to give more of the perspective of looking up the rows of the strawberry fields.

This is a more detailed version of what I had seen. I am not sure if I like it more or less, but it required more time to play with it and more time to convey another aspect … that the other workers weren’t even paying attention to the race of strawberries right next to them.

Perspective on Understanding

I’ve been working on a few different paintings at the same time. This is not one of them. But it is appropriate to feature today for two reasons. It does not follow the rules of how to achieve perspective, but it reads with perspective anyway – and I wrote about it before in conjunction with reasons for buying art.

Having any flat surface read as 3 dimensional is an illusion – the representation is an illusion – but perhaps no more so than what we perceived in the first place.

How often do we see something which doesn’t make sense and assume we have looked incorrectly? We make corrections based upon our understanding … and so it is with an original art piece like this.

Our understanding makes corrections to the perspective even though what we are seeing doesn’t really make visual sense.

I continue to like this piece because it feels like this land and feels good – I know where I am – even though it is not literally even close.

See Also

Original Prints – understanding the nature of art prints at Outhouse Studios and original digital paintings

Perspective Drawing – can’t say that I got through the entire show – but this is thoughtful and fun – knew there had to be some perspective rules out there somewhere

original flat racing witness

Always a good feeling to create a work of art which not only captures what you are trying to communicate, but feels like it is original art – particularly in the sense of standing apart from other peoples’ work.

Not sure which day, yesterday or the day before, that I saw the three workers running with their flats – not so much a competition since they clearly had not started running from the same place – but they were boogieing up the rows of berries. Don’t know if it was a pick and run event or just an impromptu breaking up the monotony of the day.

I don’t think I would personally last too long out there picking berries – long hours bent over picking – but this looked more like a fun race rather than the piece work shuffle. This was camaraderie not rushing to get paid.